4,350 research outputs found
Interpretation of Recent SPS Dilepton Data
We summarize our current theoretical understanding of in-medium properties of
the electromagnetic current correlator in view of recent dimuon data from the
NA60 experiment in In(158 AGeV)-In collisions at the CERN-SPS. We discuss the
sensitivity of the results to space-time evolution models for the hot and dense
partonic and hadronic medium created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions and
the contributions from different sources to the dilepton-excess spectra.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the 19th International Conference on
Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2006) v2:
references added, minor typos correcte
Theory and Phenomenology of Vector Mesons in Medium
Electromagnetic probes promise to be direct messengers of (spectral
properties of) hot and dense matter formed in heavy-ion collisions, even at
soft momentum transfers essential for characterizing possible phase
transitions. We examine how far we have progressed toward this goal by
highlighting recent developments, and trying to establish connections between
lattice QCD, effective hadronic models and phenomenology of dilepton
production.Comment: 8 pages latex incl. 12 ps/eps files; invited plenary talk at Quark
Matter 2006 conference, Shanghai (China), Nov. 14-20, 200
Dileptons in High-Energy Heavy-Ion Collisions
The current status of our understanding of dilepton production in
ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions is discussed with special emphasis on
signals from the (approach towards) chirally restored and deconfined phases. In
particular, recent results of the CERN-SPS low-energy runs are compared to
model predictions and interpreted. Prospects for RHIC experiments are given.Comment: Invited talk at ICPAQGP, Jaipur, India, Nov. 26-30, 2001; 1 Latex and
9 eps-/ps-files Reoprt No.: SUNY-NTG-02-0
Medium Modification of The Pion-Pion Interaction at Finite Density
We discuss medium modifications of the unitarized pion-pion interaction in
the nuclear medium. We incorporate both the effects of chiral symmetry
restoration and the influence of collective nuclear pionic modes originating
from the p-wave coupling of the pion to delta-hole configurations. We show in
particular that the dropping of the sigma meson mass significantly enhances the
low energy structure created by the in-medium collective pionic modes.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures included, Latex fil
Small scale density variations of electrons and charged particles in the vicinity of polar mesosphere summer echoes
International audienceWe present small scale variations of electron number densities and particle charge number densities measured in situ in the presence of polar mesosphere summer echoes. It turns out that the small scale fluctuations of electrons and negatively charged particles show a strong anticorrelation down to the smallest scales observed. Comparing these small scale structures with the simultaneously measured radar signal to noise profile, we find that the radar profile is well described by the power spectral density of both electrons and charged particles at the radar half wavelength (=the Bragg scale). Finally, we consider the shape of the power spectra of the observed plasma fluctuations and find that both charged particles and electrons show spectra that can be explained in terms of either neutral air turbulence acting on the distribution of a low diffusivity tracer or the fossil remnants of a formerly active turbulent region. All these results are consistent with the theoretical ideas by Rapp and Lübken (2003) suggesting that PMSE can be explained by a combination of active and fossil neutral air turbulence acting on the large and heavy charged aerosol particles which are subsequently mirrored in the electron number density distribution that becomes visible to a VHF radar when small scale fluctuations are present
The Vector Probe in Heavy-Ion Reactions
We review essential elements in using the channel as a probe for
hot and dense matter as produced in (ultra-) relativistic collisions of heavy
nuclei. The uniqueness of the vector channel resides in the fact that it
directly couples to photons, both real and virtual (dileptons), enabling the
study of thermal radiation and in-medium effects on both light () and heavy () vector mesons. We emphasize the importance
of interrelations between photons and dileptons, and characterize relevant
energy/mass regimes through connections to Quark-Gluon-Plasma emission and
chiral symmetry restoration. Based on critical analysis of our current
understanding of data from fixed-target energies, we identify open key
questions to be addressed.Comment: Invited Talk at the Hot Quarks 2004 Workshop, July 18-24, 2004 (Taos
Valley, NM, USA), 15 pages latex incl 14 figs and iop style files, to appear
in the proceeding
Multi-channel microfluidic biosensor platform applied for online monitoring and screening of biofilm formation and activity
Bacterial colonization of surfaces and interfaces has a major impact on various areas including biotechnology, medicine, food industries, and water technologies. In most of these areas biofilm development has a strong impact on hygiene situations, product quality, and process efficacies. In consequence, biofilm manipulation and prevention is a fundamental issue to avoid adverse impacts. For such scenario online, non-destructive biofilm monitoring systems become important in many technical and industrial applications. This study reports such a system in form of a microfluidic sensor platform based on the combination of electrical impedance spectroscopy and amperometric current measurement, which allows sensitive online measurement of biofilm formation and activity. A total number of 12 parallel fluidic channels enable real-time online screening of various biofilms formed by different Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strains and complex mixed population biofilms. Experiments using disinfectant and antibiofilm reagents demonstrate that the biofilm sensor is able to discriminate between inactivation/killing of bacteria and destabilization of biofilm structures. The impedance and amperometric sensor data demonstrated the high dynamics of biofilms as a consequence of distinct responses to chemical treatment strategies. Gene expression of flagellar and fimbrial genes of biofilms grown inside the microfluidic system supported the detected biofilm growth kinetics. Thus, the presented biosensor platform is a qualified tool for assessing biofilm formation in specific environments and for evaluating the effectiveness of antibiofilm treatment strategies
Photon and dilepton emission rates from high density quark matter
We compute the rates of real and virtual photon (dilepton) emission from
dense QCD matter in the color-flavor locked (CFL) phase, focusing on results at
moderate densities (3-5 times the nuclear saturation density) and temperatures
MeV. We pursue two approaches to evaluate the electromagnetic
(e.m.) response of the CFL ground state: (i) a direct evaluation of the photon
self energy using quark particle/-hole degrees of freedom, and (ii) a Hidden
Local Symmetry (HLS) framework based on generalized mesonic excitations where
the meson is introduced as a gauge boson of a local SU(3) color-flavor
group. The coupling to generalized two-pion states induces a finite
width and allows to address the issue of vector meson dominance (VMD) in the
CFL phase. We compare the calculated emissivities (dilepton rates) to those
arising from standard hadronic approaches including in-medium effects. For
rather large superconducting gaps (several tens of MeV at moderate densities),
as suggested by both perturbative and nonperturbative estimates, the dilepton
rates from CFL quark matter turn out to be very similar to those obtained in
hadronic many-body calculations, especially for invariant masses above
GeV. A similar observation holds for (real) photon production.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figure
Quark description of nuclear matter
We discuss the role of an adjoint chiral condensate for color superconducting
quark matter. Its presence leads to color-flavor locking in two-flavor quark
matter. Color is broken completely as well as chiral symmetry in the two-flavor
theory with coexisting adjoint quark-antiquark and antitriplet quark-quark
condensates. The qualitative properties of this phase match the properties of
ordinary nuclear matter without strange baryons. This complements earlier
proposals by Schafer and Wilczek for a quark description of hadronic phases. We
show for a class of models with effective four-fermion interactions that
adjoint chiral and diquark condensates do not compete, in the sense that
simultaneous condensation occurs for sufficiently strong interactions in the
adjoint chiral channel.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure
Transverse flow and hadro-chemistry in Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}}=200 GeV
We present a hydrodynamic assessment of preliminary particle spectra observed
in Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}}=200 GeV. The hadronic part of the
underlying equation of state is based on explicit conservation of (measured)
particle ratios throughout the resonance gas stage after chemical freezeout by
employing chemical potentials for stable mesons, nucleons and anti-nucleons. We
find that under these conditions the data (in particular the proton spectra)
favor a low freeze-out temperature of around 100 MeV. Furthermore we show that
through inclusion of a moderate pre-hydrodynamic transverse flow field the
shape of the spectra improves with respect to the data. The effect of the
initial transverse boost on elliptic flow and the freeze-out geometry of the
system is also elucidated.Comment: as published: more data included in Fig. 1, discussions throughout
the text improved, 6 pages, 4 figure
- …